Dana Interested in McGregor-Poirier 2, Khabib-Ferguson

During a media scrum following the TUF 28 Finale, UFC President Dana White laid out what he possibly thinks is next for some of the lightweight division’s top stars.

White reiterated that despite booking the fight several times only to be canceled each time, he wishes for Tony Ferguson to receive the next crack at current UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

In addition, White expressed an idea to have Conor McGregor’s first bout since his failed UFC 229 be against Dustin Poirier, who was scheduled to face Nate Diaz at UFC 230 before an injury forced him off the card. McGregor and Poirier previously faced off in September 2014 at UFC 178, with McGregor defeating Poirier via first-round TKO.

White further hinted that this could be a mini-tournament of sorts, with the two winners eventually facing off with each other. However, White noted that bookings for Nurmagomedov and McGregor cannot go through until their Dec. 10 hearing with the Nevada State Athletic Commission first.

“The fight that makes sense right now [for Conor] is probably Poirier,” White said. “And then Tony [Ferguson] gets a shot at the title, and the two winners fight each other. But I’m not sure exactly on a date when Conor’s going to fight yet. We have to get through this Nevada State Athletic Commission stuff first.”

White furthermore shut down rumors of a potential matchup between McGregor and Donald Cerrone, stating that the fight was never offered.